Friday Addams || Xavier Thorpe

15

Wednesday and I cornered Enid after she entered the dorm room. We had been patiently waiting for her to finish with crafting her canoe for the Poe cup. "We have to get to the woods, but Weems has been watching us like a vulture circling a carcass," my twin declared.

"And you want me to cover so that you can return to the scene of a crime that didn't happen?" The blond asked in return.

"We have beekeeping club this afternoon. I need you as a decoy," I said, letting her know of our plan.

"Sorry. Two strikes. I'm busy and bees totally creep me out. Why don't you ask Thing? Wait, you can't because he's mad at you." She directed the final statement to Wednesday.

"Why's he mad? He's the one who screwed up." It was times like this where I had learned it isn't always the best to not feel emotions. My twin was unable to understand a lot and she did not understand her cruelty toward Thing. My family always teased me for being too sensitive, but it helped when emotions were needed.

"All I know is that we spent an hour giving each other mania, and he really opened up. He feels like you don't respect him as a person." I could understand why Thing felt that way after what my twin had said to him.

"Technically, he's only a hand," she replied monotonously.

"Wednesday! He's our family," I yelled out.

"And he would do anything for you. Go apologize and I'll reconsider helping you," Enid ended the conversation. I knew that apologizing to Thing would be difficult for Wednesday but it was needed. I left with Enid for a moment to give her the space she needed to summon emotion.

Wednesday and I went into the forest to search for clues. I begun to hear the sound of a dog barking before someone pulled us back and held their hands to our mouths to keep us from making noise. They let us go after the barking faded and I turned to see Tyler with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry. I didn't want Elvis to pick up on your scent."

I assumed Elvis was the name of the dog. "Thanks. How'd you throw them off?" I asked, wondering how the tracker dog couldn't find three humans.

"Uh..." he chuckled as he held out a small drawstring bag. "Coffee grounds? Deer-hunting hack. One of the perks of being a part-time barista."

"I assume your father didn't bring the bloodhound to play fetch," my sister spoke monotonously. The question phrased more as an answer.

"He doesn't tell me anything. You must think it's weird I'm stalking him." He scratched his neck awkwardly. I still didn't feel good around him.

"No, I consistently stalk my parents." I knew this fact was true about my sister. She watched them to know what they were up to at all times, except when they were intimate.

"Hey, wait, what really happened the other night at the festival? Look, I swear I won't say anything to my dad," he seemed as if he was pleading to hear the details.

"We thought Rowan was in danger. Turns out we were wrong. Then he proceeded to use his telekinesis and tried choking Wednesday to death," I explained the story in simple terms.

"Holy crap. Wh... why would he do that?"

"No idea. That's when this monster came out of the shadows and gutted him." As Wednesday gave the details, I remembered the scene as clear as day in my mind. Even the smell of the monster as it attacked Rowan.

"Whoa. Whoa. So... so you really saw it? And it didn't try to kill you?" As much as it was a strange and frightening story, Tyler seemed too shaky to me. It seemed as if he was trying to get information that he already somewhat knew.